The Parable of the Ten Virgins by Robert Govett and published by Classics.
“That the parable of the wise and foolish virgins has been misunderstood, the following pages are designed to show. And the misunderstanding is traceable to several assumptions, which have been silently made by commentators. These assumptions, then, let us examine, before entering on the interpretation here given.
The main assumption, nearly universal among writers on this parable, is that “Sincere Christians are the wise virgins, and hypocrites the foolish ones.” The wise virgins are those “who truly enjoy,” the foolish, “those who only profess the purity and holiness of His (Christ's) religion” and From this assumption it immediately follows that the writers seek to make differences, where Christ has made agreement, in order to distinguish fundamentally the foolish from the wise. Now the Saviour has stated that they were alike in eight points, and that they differ in one only...”
From the Introduction
